US President Barack Obama yesterday lifted a half-century-old ban on selling arms to Vietnam, looking to bolster a government seen as a crucial, though flawed partner in a region that he has tried to place at the center of his foreign policy legacy.
Obama announced the full removal of the embargo at a news conference where he vowed to leave behind the troubled history between the former war enemies and embrace a new era with a young, increasingly prosperous nation.
Obama steered clear of harsh condemnation of what critics see as Vietnam’s abysmal treatment of dissidents, describing instead modest progress on rights in the one-party state.
Photo: Reuters
Activists said his decision destroyed the best US leverage for pushing Vietnam on abuse.
“At this stage, both sides have established a level of trust and cooperation, including between our militaries, that is reflective of common interests and mutual respect,” Obama said. “This change will ensure that Vietnam has access to the equipment it needs to defend itself and removes a lingering vestige of the Cold War.”
Obama also had more current motivations. His move was the latest step in a years-long and uneven effort to counter China’s influence in Asia. Obama’s push to deepen defense ties with a neighbor was certain to be eyed with suspicion in Beijing, which has bristled at US engagement in the region and warned officials not to take sides in the heated territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
Obama claimed the move had nothing to do with China, but made clear the US was aligned with the smaller nations like Vietnam.
China outwardly lauded the lifting of a US arms embargo, saying it hoped “normal and friendly” relations between the US and Vietnam are conducive to regional stability.
A spokeswoman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said bans are a product of the Cold War and should not have existed.
For Vietnam, lifting the arms embargo was a psychological boost for leaders. The US partially lifted the ban in 2014, but Vietnam pushed for full access as it tries to deal with China’s land reclamation and military construction in nearby seas.
Obama said that each deal would be reviewed case by case and evaluated based on the equipment’s potential use.
However, there would no longer be a ban based on “ideological division,” he said.
“There’s been modest progress on some of the areas that we’ve identified as a concern,” Obama said, adding that the US “will continue to speak out on behalf of human rights we believe are universal.”
Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang embraced the chance to enter a new era in US-Vietnamese relations.
Some US lawmakers and activists had urged the president to press the communist leadership for greater freedoms before lifting the arms sale embargo.
Vietnam holds about 100 political prisoners and there have been more detentions this year.
In March, seven bloggers and activists were sentenced for “abusing democratic freedoms” and “spreading anti-state propaganda.”
“In one fell swoop, President Obama has jettisoned what remained of US leverage to improve human rights in Vietnam — and [has] basically gotten nothing for it,” said Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch.
Obama’s arrival in Hanoi late on Sunday made him the third sitting US president to visit the nation since the end of the war.
Obama also made the case for stronger commercial and economic ties, including approval of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement that is stalled in US Congress and facing strong opposition from the presidential candidates.
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